Young Writer

The Theme is 'Happiness in Nature'

This National Young Writer Competition is a well-established and successful competition promoted by Rotary International in Great Britain and Ireland (RotaryGBI).  It is a multi-stage competition, designed to support and encourage the development of writing skills.

This competition aims to encourage young people to:

• develop their writing skills and creativity
• express their thoughts and ideas through the written word
• interpret the theme thoughtfully
• enjoy writing as a rewarding means of self-expression

The ‘THEME’ for 2025-2026 is ‘Happiness in Nature’.  This is a chance to be imaginative and produce a written or typed story in prose. The written entry can be fiction or non-fiction, a story or a poem, as long as the piece relates to the theme. See the Competition Guidance notes on the RotaryGBI website for suggested length.   

The Competition is open to all young people and often coordinated thorough schools and college communities including those that are home educated and any other young peoples’ community organisations, for example, community RotaKids, community Interact, Scout Groups and Girl Guides.

The three age groups are: Junior 7 to 10 years old; Intermediate 11 to 13 years old and Senior 14 to 17 years old.  Entrants must not be above the age parameters for each group on 31st August 2025. There are several stages to the competition, each designed to support and encourage the development of written skills.  

This year we are encouraging Rotary Clubs to work with schools and youth groups in their area and hold local competitions.  We suggest they follow the RotaryGBI theme and age catergories, then if they have an outstanding entry it can be progressed to the District and National finals.  

District entries should be with Mary Bradley by 31st March 2026.  The finalist in each category will be sent to RotaryGBI by 30th April 2026 but it must be accompanied with the correct paperwork.

For further details contact your local Rotary Club or Young Writer Lead in Cumbria & Lancashire Mary Bradley using the Contact Form below.

Rotary Clubs can download Information Packs, posters and logos by logging into the RotaryGBI website using their personal My Rotary account.  Some information is also available on the public side of the website.